Promises, Promises
by lucky-starz06
Summary: Spencer knows the real Toby Cavanaugh. Her family doesn't. But she's making a promise to herself to change that.


_**Okay, so if the truth is to be told, I'm completely addicted to this couple and HAD to write a fanfiction. I wrote it just for fun, though, so I'm sorry if it's not that great or people are out of character. Sort of something I needed to get out of my system. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it anyway.**_

"Spencer..." her mother stated, a firm edge to her voice as her daughter hung up the phone. "We've been through this already. I do not want you associating with Toby Cavanaugh!"

"Mom, that's not fair!" Spencer cried. "He's my friend. I can't just not talk to him."

"Your friend? He sure seemed like more than a friend to me at the Founders Day festival." her mother argued.

Spencer just rolled her eyes as her mother sighed. "Sweetheart, I'm only looking out for your best interests." she said softly, running a hand through her daughters hair. Spencer pulled away.

"Remember what we talked about?" she continued. "How people in this town could be potiential jurors?"

"Yes, I remember." Spencer informed her. "And I thought I made it quite clear to you that I don't really care what they think!"

"You'd be feeling differently if people suspected you even more because you're talking to him." her mother assured her.

Spencer pouted and whispered quietly, "No I wouldn't." Then she spoke up. "Well, what if... what if he just hangs out over here every now and again? We'll be very subtle, no one will ever have to know."

"Honey, why are you so persistent on this?" her mother asked.

"I already told you. He's my friend!"

"He's also a murderer." Melissa interrupted casually, entering the kitchen. That did it. Spencer was fuming.

"Call him that one more time, and I swear on everything I have that I'll make your life a living hell, Melissa." she seethed, getting right into her sisters face.

"Is that a threat?" her sibling challenged.

"Oh, no, sis. It's a promise!" Spencer snapped back.

"Girls, girls, girls!" their mother shouted, interrupting the fight. "That is quite enough! Now, Spencer, I hate to say this... but... your sister is right."

_Oh, sure. Take her side. You know, cause you ALWAYS take mine. Good going, mom. Switch it up a bit._ It was all she could do to keep from storming out of the room.

"Now, I'm not saying that Toby did kill Alison," Mrs. Hastings went on, "but I'm not saying he didn't, either. In fact, that's exactly my point. How much do we really know about this boy?"

"Quite right, Veronica." a handsome young man commented as he walked through the doorway. "Spencer, your mother is only looking out for you. Now, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but we're family now. We have to look out for one another."

"OH, SHUT UP IAN!" Spencer yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "No one asked your opinion! Go get a glass of milk or something."

She turned back to her mom. "You're right. You don't know anything about him. None of you do! And do you know the saddest part of all of this? You're not even willing to get the chance!" She shook her head in defeat and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Landing on her bed, and squeezing one of her pillows tighty, she burst into tears.

_It's funny isn't it? _she thought to herself._ A few weeks ago, I didn't even want to be within sight of Toby. I was certain he was a perv who had killed Alison myself. Now I honestly can't imagine my life without him._

She wiped her tears away and began softly singing along to her Selena Gomez CD faintly streaming in the background. Her personal favorite track, "I Promise You", had just begun playing. Suddenly, she heard a knock on her window and jumped in alarm, looking up.

Toby.

Her heart leaped at the sight of him, only to sink to her stomach after remembering the confrontation she'd just had. She walked over to the window. He crawled inside, giving her a huge smile. She tried her best to smile back.

"Hey." he whispered.

Giving her a closer glance, he couldn't help but notice she'd been crying.

"Hey," he repeated. "Whats wrong?" He reached out his hand to pull her into a hug, but she gently shoved it away.

The look of hurt on his face broke Spencer's heart, sending her into another fit of tears.

"I-I c-c-can't see you anymore!" she stammered between sobs. "I'm sorry." she whispered, looking down at the ground. "But I just can't."

"What?" Toby asked confused, his eyes beginning to glisten with tears of his own.

"Oh, Toby, please don't." she begged, knowing that if he started breaking down as well it would be a disaster. One of them had to be strong in this situation, and there was no way in hell it could be her. "You're not making this any easier."

"But I don't understand." Toby told her. "Spencer, I care about you. I thought you cared about me, too. I guess I was wrong."

"No!" Spencer cried. "You're the farthest thing from wrong, Toby. I _do _care about you. More than you know. It's my parents. They've forbidden me from seeing you."

Toby nodded. "You're going to let them control you, just like always. I get it. I've been doing the same thing. And you know what? I'm tired of it! Spencer, we've lived our entire lives trying to please everyone around us. Make _them_ happy." He took her by the hand, his piercing blue eyes staring deeply into her deep brown ones. "It's _our_ turn."

Spencer blinked, letting his words sink in. _He's right. _Without even thinking, Spencer tilted her head up, capturing his lips with hers. One of his arms slowly wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer while his free hand reached up to pull a stray wisp of hair out of her face. Their foreheads were together when they broke apart, Tobys hands at her hips.

"Please, Spencer." he murmured somewhat breathlessly. "I don't want to lose you."

She gave him another quick peck on the lips and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You're not going to."

His eyes lit up, the tone in his voice hopeful. "Promise?"

She smiled with a nod. "I promise. In fact, you're having dinner with us. Tonight. I'm standing up to my parents once and for all. The worst they can do is kick us out. Even if they do, I still have you. It's a win-win situation."

She took him by the hand, and they entered the kitchen.

"Mom," Spencer stated "Toby's coming over. He's staying for dinner."

"I already told you, and I will not tell you again that I do not want that boy in this house!" her mom shouted, shutting the refrigerator door. Upon turning around, the tub of butter clattered to the floor with a loud crash and her jaw went slack at seeing Toby standing there.

"Too late." Spencer informed her with a smirk. "Mom, don't be rude! We have a guest! You might want to grab an extra plate."

Not exactly knowing what to make of this particular scenario, her mother did as she was told. Toby and Spencer began setting the table as Mrs. Hastings served the food.

The reaction from Melissa, Ian, and her father were exactly the same as her mothers. Pure shock. But so far things were going as smoothly as could be expected. No one was dead yet. There was just an awkward silence. The only sound heard was the occasional fork against a plate.

Finally, her father cleared his throat. "Urhm, this is... wonderful pot roast, Veronica. You've really outdone yourself."

Melissa nodded in agreement, as did Ian, who was currently having a stare down with Toby as he sipped on a glass of milk

"It really is, Mrs. Hastings." Toby commented. "I love my mother, but she's not exactly the best cook. This is the best meal I've had in a long time."

"Thank you." she told him simply, yet politely.

Spencer smiled and took his hand underneath the table. He smiled back, rubbing the edge of her thumb with his. After dinner, he stayed around to help clean up. Once that was done, he let out a sigh. He looked at Spencer with a frown.

"I guess I better get going."

She blinked sadly. "Yeah." she whispered.

"One thing first..." he told her. Then he turned to her mother. "Mrs. Hastings, thank you for letting me stay for dinner. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person. But I need you to know that I really care about your daughter and I would never do anything to hurt her."

She gave him a simple nod.

Spencer walked him to the door and they kissed goodbye. "See you later." she told him.

"Promise?" he asked again.

"I promise." she vowed.

Later that evening, Spencer was drifting off to sleep and thinking of Toby, her room filled with the soft glow of the hallway light. A light knock on her door interrupted her hazy state. It was her mother.

"Darling, can I talk to you?"

_Now what did I do wrong? _Spencer thought with a groan.

"It will only take a second." she assured her daughter. "Spencer, I do not exactly agree with the way you went about things tonight. You know... surprising us with Toby's presence like that."

"Mom, I don't-" Spencer began.

"Let me finish. I do not agree with it, but I've discovered that maybe I do need to get to know Toby a little bit more before I start making judgements. Therefore, I've decided that he may come over here twice a week."

Spencer jolted up in delight, hugging her mother. "Thank you!" she squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

It would still be somewhat torture to see Toby only twice a week, but it was a start, and it was better than nothing. She'd take what she could get.

"You're welcome." her mother managed, getting up to walk out of the room.

Spencer knew something was up. When her mom had her mind set on something, there was usually no changing it.

"Mom... what made you change your mind?" she asked, causing her mother to stop in the doorway.

"Because..." her mother began in a wistful tone "you two look at each other the exact same way your father and I always have."

Spencer beamed and snuggled into her bed. _Ding. _A chime rang out loudly in the silence. It was her cell phone. A text message from Toby.

_**No one else can make me feel the way that you do. Today, tomorrow, and forever we will stay true**_, she read.

She gasped and bit her bottom lip. _I didn't even realize he noticed what I was listening to earlier. _she thought with a smile, her whole body going warm.

Her response was three simple words: _**I promise you.**_

_**-THE END- **__**There you have it! Love it? Like it? Hate it? Please feel free to review! Can never get enough of those. Oh, and SPENCER/TOBY FOREVER!**_


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